Some Notes on Donsbach University

Stephen Barrett, M.D.

During the past 25 years, nonaccredited correspondence schools
and other organizations have issued thousands of "degrees"
and certificates which suggest that the recipient is a qualified
expert in nutrition. These documents are promoted as though they
are equivalent in meaning to established credentials -- which
they are not. Whereas nutrition degrees from accredited schools
generally take several years to acquire, Donsbach degrees could
be obtained in less than a year. Some cases involve no schooling
at all but mere payment of a fee.

The most prominent nonaccredited school was Donsbach University
of Huntington Beach, California, whose president, Kurt
W. Donsbach, D.C., is one of the world's most notorious promoters
of dubious health information and treatment. I have been closely
monitoring Donsbach's activities since 1971.

Although Donsbach has placed various letters after his name,
he has never acquired an accredited degree. In 1957, he graduated
from Western States Chiropractic College, in Portland, Oregon,
and practiced as a chiropractor in Montana, "specializing
in treatment of arthritic and rheumatoid disorders." Later
he acquired a license to practice naturopathy in Oregon, based
on a document that was later revealed to be a forgery. From 1961
to 1965, he worked in "research development and marketing"
for Standard Process Laboratories (a division of Royal Lee's Vitamin
Products Company) and the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research,
headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While Donsbach worked for
Lee, he lived in California, did literature research, and gave
nutrition seminars, primarily to chiropractors who were interested
in marketing the company's products to their patients. In 1962,
while Donsbach was still employed, Lee and the Vitamin Products
Company were convicted of misbranding 115 special dietary products
by making false claims for the treatment of more than 500 diseases
and conditions. Lee received a one-year suspended prison term
and was fined $7,000. In 1963, a prominent FDA official said Lee
was "probably the largest publisher of unreliable and false
nutritional information in the world." Lee died in 1967.
After Lee became ill, Donsbach left his employ and opened a health
food store in Westminster, California, and Westpro Laboratories,
in Garden Grove, California, which repackaged dietary supplements
and a few drugs. From 1975 to 1989, Donsbach served as board chairman
of the National Health Federation, a group that promotes the full
gamut of quackery.

Three Criminal Convictions

In 1970, undercover agents of the Fraud Division of the California
Bureau of Food and Drug observed Donsbach represent to customers
in his store that vitamins, minerals, and/or herbal tea were effective
against cancer, heart disease, emphysema (a chronic lung disease),
and many other ailments. Most of the products Donsbach "prescribed"
were packaged by Westpro Labs. Charged with nine counts of illegal
activity, Donsbach pleaded guilty in 1971 to one count of practicing
medicine without a license and agreed to cease "nutritional
consultation." He was assessed $2,750 and served two years'
summary probation.

In 1973, Donsbach was charged with nine more counts of illegal
activity, including misbranding of drugs; selling, holding for
sale, or offering for sale, new drugs without having the proper
applications on file; and manufacturing drugs without a license.
After pleading "no contest" to one of the "new
drug" charges, he was ordered to pay a small fine and was
placed on two years' summary probation with the provision that
he rid himself of all proprietary interest in Westpro Labs. In
1974, Donsbach was found guilty of violating his probation and
was fined again.

In 1996, after a lengthy investigation by the U.S. Justice
Department, he was indicted and pleaded guilty to smuggling unapproved
drugs into the U.S. and not paying income tax on the money he
made for selling them. In a plea bargain with the U.S. Attorney's
office, he forfeited about $165,000 and paid an additional $150,000
in back taxes. In 1997, Donsbach was sentenced to a year in federal
prison by a federal judge, but the sentence was later changed
to six months of "house arrest," during which time he
was permitted to conduct business as usual in Mexico and elsewhere.

History of Donsbach University

During the mid-1970s, Donsbach affiliated with Union University,
a nonaccredited school in Los Angeles. During 1977, Union formed
a nutrition department with Donsbach as its "dean" and
he allegedly acquired MS and PhD "degrees" in nutrition
from the school. Donsbach subsequently launched and became president
of his own school, Donsbach University, which in 1979 became "authorized"
by California to grant degrees. This status had nothing to do
with accreditation or other academic recognition, but merely required
the filing of an affidavit which described the school's program
and asserted that it had at least $50,000 in assets.

Donsbach University, which operated mainly by mail, initially
offered courses leading to B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. "degrees"
in nutrition. Its original "catalog" was a 4-page flyer.
The original "faculty" had seven members, including
Donsbach, Alan H. Nittler, M.D., and Ray Yancy, an unlicensed
practitioner of iridology. Its 16-person advisory advisory board
included Nittler, Richard Passwater, "Ph.D.," Betty
Morales, Benjamin Colimore, "Ph.D," and Bruce Halstead,
M.D.

Nittler's California medical license had been revoked in
1975 because he practiced unscientific "nutritional therapies."

Passwater's "degree" was issued by Bernadean
University, a nonaccredited correspondence school that was
located in Nevada but was not authorized to operate within the
state or to grant degrees.

Morales marketed dietary supplements and performed "nutritional
consultation" by mail. Some of her products were marketed
with illegal therapeutic claims. In 1976, she recommended a long
list of useless products in response to an inquiry from me that
described the symptoms of blurred vision characteristic of glaucoma.

Colimore's "Ph.D." was issued by Donsbach University.
In 1980, he and his wife were prosecuted by the Los Angeles City
Attorney for conduct during the operation of their health food
store. Prosecution was initiated after a customer complained
that the Colimores had diagnosed a bad heart valve, pancreatic
abscesses and benign growths of her liver, intestine and stomach
-- all based on an analysis of her hair -- and prescribed two
products from the store. After pleading "no contest"
to one count of practicing medicine without a license, the Colimores
were fined $2,000, given a 60-day suspended jail sentence, and
placed on probation for two years.

Halstead was convicted in 1987 in the State of California
of 24 counts of fraud for prescribing an "herbal tea"
to cancer patients.

The original catalog listed 14 "textbooks" required
for the "core curriculum." Four of these were actual
textbooks, but the rest were books written for the general public
by promoters of questionable nutrition practices who recommend
dietary supplements for the prevention and/or treatment of a wide
range of diseases. In addition to Donsbach, these included Carlton
Fredericks and Lendon
Smith. Fredericks, who had no formal nutrition training, was
convicted of practicing medicine without a license in New York
in 1945. Smith, a pediatrician, was placed on probation by the
Oregon Board of Medical Examiners from 1971 through 1979 for "inappropriate
prescribing of drugs" to adult heroin addicts. In 1988, he
permanently surrendered his license to settle charges of insurance
fraud filed by the Oregon Board.

The catalog also listed 18 textbooks under the "Advanced
Graduate Study" program. Of these, 15 were not recognized
textbooks but were written by promoters of questionable nutrition
practices who recommend dietary supplements for the prevention
and/or treatment of a wide range of diseases. The authors included
Donsbach, Smith, the Colimores, Passwater (2), and Emory Thurston,
Ph.D., who in 1973 was convicted, fined and placed on two years'
probation in the State of California after selling laetrile to
a woman who told him she had cancer.

The 1981 Donsbach University tuition schedule listed a registration
fee of $100 and a tuition fee of $3,045, with a 20% discount for
prepayment. In 1985, the MS/Ph.D. tuition was $4,495 with a 20%
discount for prepayment. Donsbach claims that the school served
over 4,000 students. The significance of this number is unclear.

Phony Accreditation

In catalogs and advertisements during the early 1980s, Donsbach
University maintained that it was accredited by the National Accreditation
Association (NAA). This "agency" was bogus. It was created
in 1980 by a California chiropractor and two members of his family.
A few months later, Donsbach University announced that it had
become accredited. In 1981, Dr. William Jarvis, President of the
National Council Against Health Fraud, visited NAA in Maryland
and found that its "office" was a telephone in the living
room of its executive director, who said he received $100-a-month
salary. Although NAA correspondence had designated the man as
holding a "Ph.D." from the Sussex College of Technology
in England, the British Embassy informed Jarvis that it did not
consider the "school" or its diplomas valid. NAA was
never recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education or the Council
on Postsecondary Accreditation. In 1981, California authorities
ordered Donsbach to stop representing that his school was accredited
without mentioning that the agency was not recognized.

In 1984, Donsbach University announced that it had been recognized
as a candidate for accreditation by the National Association of
Private, Nontraditional Schools and Colleges (NAPNSC) as of March
3, 1984. Documents in my possession indicate that NAPNSC began
trying to gain recognition from the U.S. Secretary of Education
in 1976 and from the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation in
1977 but was not successful. An NAPNSC position paper dated March
20, 1984, stated that neither agency had any intention of permitting
NAPNSC to become recognized.

The New York State Injunction

Donsbach also operated the International Institute of Natural
Health Sciences, a company through which he marketed numerous
misleading publications and a "Nutrient Deficiency Test"
which was taught to students and used nationwide by chiropractors
and bogus nutritionists.

In July 1985, the New York Attorney General brought actions
against Donsbach, his university, and the International Institute,
charging that they lacked legal authorization to conduct business
within New York State and that it was illegal to advertise nonaccredited
degrees to state residents. Abrams also charged that the institute's
"Nutrient Deficiency Test" was a scheme to defraud consumers.
This test was composed of 245 yes/no questions about symptoms.
When the answers were fed into a computer, a report of supposed
nutrient deficiencies and medical conditions was printed out.
The questions did not provide a basis for evaluating nutritional
status. A scientist with the FDA's Buffalo district office who
analyzed the computer program (in connection with prosecution
of a Donsbach University "graduate") found that no matter
how the questions were answered, the test reported several "nutrient
deficiencies" and almost always recommended an identical
list of vitamins, minerals, and digestive enzymes. The questionnaire
also contained questions about the subject's food intake during
the past week. However, the answers given did not affect the printout
of supposed deficiencies.

In 1986, Donsbach and his Institute agreed to: (a) stop marketing
in New York State all current versions of its nutrient deficiency
questionnaire and associated computer analysis services, (b) place
conspicuous disclaimers on future versions of the questionnaire
to indicate that the test should not be used for the diagnosis
or treatment of any disease by either consumers or professionals,
and (3) pay $1,000 in costs. Donsbach and the university agreed
to disclose in any direct mailings to New York residents or in
any nationally distributed publication that the school's degree
programs were not registered with the New York Department of Education
and were not accredited by a recognized agency. The university
also agreed to pay $500 to New York State.

In 1987, Jacob Swilling assumed ownership of Donsbach University,
which was renamed International University for Nutrition Education
but soon went defunct. Since that time Donsbach's primary activity
has been the operation of Hospital
Santa Monica, a Mexican clinic that offers dubious treatments
for cancer and other serious diseases.

Donsbach's "Graduates"

Donsbach University "graduates" typically refer to
themselves as "nutrition consultants," a term also used
by some reputable nutritionists. Some are still in practice. At
least four Donsbach "PhD's" have been in legal difficulty:

Jacob W. Kulp, DC, practiced chiropractic
in Cheektowaga, New York. In 1983, he pled guilty to a charge
of violating federal drug law by claiming that wheat bran tablets
would improve a patient's nutrient absorption by eliminating
"black intestinal plaque" -- a condition unknown to
medical science. The "patient" was an undercover agent
for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service who paid $25 for the advice.
Kulp was sentenced to six months' probation with special conditions
that he not pose as a nutritionist or give nutritional advice
through broadcast media unless he acquires a graduate degree
in nutrition from an accredited college or university.

Sandi Mitchell practiced as a nutrition
consultant in Alabama. In 1985, she was permanently restrained
from "the maintenance of an office where the individual
care and treatment of persons is performed, including the diagnosis
of human diseases or conditions, the giving of instructions on
good nutrition thereon, recommendation of colon irrigation, and
recommendation and sale of vitamins, food supplements and homeopathic
medicines." She was also barred from performing diagnostic
tests or using the designation "Dr." or giving individual
advice to specific persons for human diseases and conditions.

Gary Pace practiced as a nutrition consultant
in New York City. In 1985, New York State Attorney General Robert
Abrams filed a civil suit accusing Pace of practicing medicine
without a license, false advertising, and illegal use of educational
credentials. Pace's schemes, said Abrams, induced hundreds of
consumers to pay him for improper physical examinations, worthless
laboratory tests (including hair analysis and herbal crystallization
analysis), bogus nutritional advice, and unnecessary vitamin,
mineral, and herbal supplements. The case against Pace was supported
by affidavits from thirteen aggrieved clients and two undercover
investigators, all of whom had been advised to take supplements.
Some of the female clients reported that Pace had examined their
breasts or genitals. Several clients underwent significant expense
to obtain medical reassurance that they did not have various
diseases that Pace said they had. One was advised by her medical
doctor to stop taking vitamin A because her palms had become
yellow as a result of overdosage. Abrams said that at least 251
clients had paid Pace an average of $307 during the previous
four years. Many had been attracted by his ad, which was the
largest of eleven listings in the "Nutritionists" section
of the Nassau County Yellow Pages. Pace also taught in the extension
division of a local community college and hosted a radio program.
The investigators discovered that the "free consultation"
promised in Pace's Yellow Page ad was merely the brief telephone
conversation in which he advised prospective clients to make
an appointment. The case was settled with an injunction forbidding
Pace from engaging in the unlawful practice of medicine or using
"Ph.D." or "Dr." in dealings with the public
unless he obtains a degree from an institution recognized by
New York State. Pace agreed to pay $2,000 to the state and to
make restitution to dissatisfied clients. He also agreed not
to do further "nutritional counseling" unless he obtained
proper credentials or posts a $150,000 bond.

Raymond J. Salani, who practiced as
a "nutrition consultant," was charged in 1989 by the
New Jersey Attorney General and the state board of medical examiners
with practicing medicine without a license, violating the state's
clinical laboratory act, and committing insurance and consumer
fraud. The complaint stated that Salani misused the term "doctor,
"prescribed excessive quantities of food supplements"
that were ineffective or potentially toxic, and issued fraudulent
reports to insurance companies. In December 1989, a superior
court judge enjoined Salani from representing to the public that
he has a doctoral degree unless he acquires one from an accredited
school. A few months later, the judge approved a consent agreement
barring Salani from representing himself as a doctor, recommending
supplements for any specific medical problem (except under medical
supervision), diagnosing medical conditions or symptoms, or filling
out insurance forms in a misleading manner. Salani was also required
to inform clients that the FDA does not recognize any need or
usefulness for the products he typically recommends. He also
was assessed $11,000, part of which was used for restitution
to insurance companies and former patients.

George Zabrecky, DC,
is a Connecticut chiropractor who treats cancer patients. In
1991, his license was suspended for six months and he was successfully
sued for treating a cancer patient with cellular products that
appeared to have destroyed the man's liver.

Public Protection Efforts

As Donsbach graduates began representing themselves to the
public as nutrition professionals, the American Dietetic Association
began a drive for passage of state laws to restrict use of the
word "nutritionist" to qualified professionals with
accredited training. So far. more than 40 states and the District
of Columbia have passed laws to regulate nutritionists. Some make
it illegal for unqualified persons to call themselves dietitians
or nutritionists, while others define nutrition practice and who
is eligible to practice. The most basic requirement is completion
of accredited training. Licensing does not offer complete protection
against all forms of nutrition practice conducted privately between
consenting adults. (It does not, for example, protect people from
the poor advice offered by many chiropractors, acupuncturists,
naturopaths, and health-food retailers.) But it can deter untrained
individuals from widely advertising that they are experts.